Tuesday, December 02, 2003

Ancient Inclusive Language?

I'm a fool for rare liturgical books from our church's past. A year ago, I got my hands on a copy of the second edition of William Maskell's The Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England According to the Uses of Sarum, Bangor, York, and Hereford and the Modern Roman Liturgy, published 1846. Basically it's a comparison between the ancient liturgical uses in England prior to the Council of Trent together with the codified Tridentine liturgy, all in parallel columns. The use of Sarum (ancient Salisbury) being the most well known in England at the time. These English uses were also unique in that they often employed inclusive language. When, in the Tridentine liturgy, the priest would implore the prayers of those present that the sacrifice be acceptable to God, he would say:
Orate fratres ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipotentem.
My Translation: Pray, brothers, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father.
but in the uses of Sarum and Bangor, the priest would say:
Orate fratres et sorores pro me ut meum pariterque vestrum acceptum sit Domino Deo sacrificium.
My Translation: Pray, brothers and sisters, for me that my sacrifice and, at the same time (in the same way), yours may be acceptable to the Lord God.
The use at York renders it:
Orate fratres et sorores pro me peccatore ut meum pariterque vestrum...
The custom of saying et sorores (and sisters) does not seem to have ever been a part of the Roman Rite liturgy in Latin, though in English, at least in the United States, the General Instruction has permitted the priest to say brothers and sisters to convey the inclusive sense of fratres.

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